Tag: running

Hip knee running connection

Cindy Choj

Hi. I am lifelong runner , hiker, bicycle commuter & triathlete with a specific question re. hip replacement recovery and running. Had anterior hip replacement on right hip March 2012. Before that did a lot of triathlons. Good quick recovery & back to jogging by that summer but did not run seriously as we did international work a couple of years with minimal running/ competition opportunity, then I had series of small injuries (not related to hip); last year it was a broken arm when I slipped trail running! I  would like to return to long distance triathlons. However if I run more than 5 miles I get a “popping” in right knee. My physical therapist says it’s weak hips & gave me lots of hip strengthening work. I wonder if right hip perpetually weaker because of artificial hip& puts more stress on knee. Has anyone else in the community had this issue and do you have advice on how to specifically target/strengthen weak right hip?  I do not get these problems cycling, hiking or backpacking. I do best on trail running and worst on flat pavement; alternating some with barefoot/toe shoe running seems to  ease stress on knees. I thought about more work in minimalist shoes; something I could use for triathlons that would be easier on knees but easy to slip on? (unlike toe shoes which make you crazy in transition).  Thanks for all/ any advice!… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Yvonne – Who the Heck is this Bionic Babe?

Yvonne Navarro

Hey all.  I’m your standard once in awhile contributor.  I’m notoriously overwhelmed with too much stuff to do– The Husband (author Weston Ochse) is deployed, my Dad had a stroke last October, I have three Great Danes (two of which are aging), and I work full time *and* still try to write fiction in my “spare” time while taking care of three houses (ours, the old one we haven’t been able to sell, and my Dad’s). What’s relevant here is that I had a hip replacement in June of 2012; my right hip had bugged me since I was a child, when I would occasionally get out of bed and literally collapse when I tried to take a step on the right side. I would “walk it out” (translation: lurch around) and ultimately be fine. It would go away for years, then come back. Then go away. As I got older the going away periods got shorter.

One day in mid-summer 2011 I wore green high heels to work, took a forward step, got a shot in the hip (which had been hurting more frequently), and this time it never went away. I had reached the point where I completely ran out of cartilage on that side. Apparently I had a genetic abnormality where my hip socket was smaller than normal (so same amount of pressure over a smaller area). In the course of the next year and the medical insurance controlling how fast I could get treatment, the top of the femur not only rubbed bone on bone but pushed upward about a half inch or so; I even had a last-ditch effort in the form of a fluoroscopic cortisone shot so I could enjoy a trip to Spain before my surgery (didn’t work and I broke down and bought a cane in Valencia, because I could hardly walk at all). The surgery went fine, my pain was awful because nothing (including all the Oxy, Percocet, etc.) stopped the pain. Then everything became a hundred times worse because I developed severe anemia. Long story short, ditch the whine, … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Alistair – Running with a hip replacement and loving it

Alistair McAlpine

running after a hip replacement On Christmas day 2005 I walked out of Wellington Public Hospital with a new hip replacement and no pain at last. If it wasn’t for the crutches I’d have thrown my arms in the air in celebration, just as I did finishing the Western States 100 fourteen years earlier.

Hi fellow hippies and hippies-to-be, I’m Alistair from New Zealand, “thanks” Tom for bringing us all together. I mention the WS100 mile ultra-marathon because during that last long run in 1991 my genes overtook me – Hip dysplasia, the family curse. Over the following years niggling hip pain deteriorated until I struggled to walk. You probably know the stabbing hip pain well.

After hip replacement surgery I began using trekking poles and was soon able to enjoy walking some of my old trail-running routes. I had dutifully listened to my hip surgeon who answered “No” to the inevitable question “Will I be able to run after a hip replacement?”.

Running after hip replacement surgery in Belmont Regional ParkOne day though, about 5 years post-surgery, an old urge sneaked up on me. As I began my walk up Belmont Trig I leaned forward on my toes and started to run up the steep gravel track. My hip felt strong and it seemed such a natural thing to do. Since then I have spent many happy miles playing with and researching safe running techniques and learned a lot about running with a hip replacement, and myself.

My weekend runs range from two to five hours, although I have to sheepishly admit to injuring my right foot on a tough bush run about 5 weeks ago. It’s healing but, as I sit contemplating my unused running gear, I am reminded once again not to take running for granted.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Dave – About Me

Dave Whiteside

Hi, my name is David Whiteside and I had a total hip replacement on my left hip just over 2 years ago on Dec 6th 2010. I’m 52, originally from England but have lived in the US for last 22 years, father of 3 and grandfather of 2, and my story starts about 20 years ago from my days of playing soccer. Initially my doctor’s diagnosed me as having Hip Bursitis and in my 30’s I should consider giving up soccer, but that was never going to happen. So I continued playing and going back every 2-3 years when the pain got a lot worse until 2002 when I got the correct diagnosis of needing as hip replacement within a year as it was already bone on bone. I have to admit, tears came to my eyes with this news as I enjoyed playing soccer so much. I decided to get a second opinion from a sports specialist and he agreed I needed a hip replacement but encouraged me to keep playing soccer as long as I could, what damage could I do. I started taking Celebrex and it helped for a couple of years until my body got used to it and I then tried other medications but none really agreed as much with my stomach. One of the guys I played soccer with told me about a  natural liquid Glucosamine and Chondroitin formula he was taking which I took and it helped me a lot before I had my replacement allowing me to play for a few more years. By 2010 walking half a mile to the beach I would be limping quite badly and it would just get worse standing up while fishing. Having given up playing soccer 3 years earlier and now it was impacting fishing I decided it was time to take the next step, I was older, technology was better and what did I have to lose.

DaveTo prepare for this I started to run as I wanted to come out of the surgery strong as I hated the idea of not being able … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)